Joaqlin Estus, KNBA - Anchorage

A Yup’ik woman from the Bristol Bay region known as one of the people who created the Alaska tribal health system and a savvy national advocate died Jan. 10. For nearly 50 years, Sally Smith played a key role in transforming an under-funded, under-staffed and ill-equipped health system for Natives into one that is a model for tribal self-governance. Listen now

The Alaska Pacific University board of trustees voted Dec. 19 to partner with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium to transform the small Anchorage-based university into a tribal college. Listen Now

A handful of Alaskans this week are heading to the Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dakota. They’re joining thousands of Native Americans who have gathered there in recent months to protest the construction of a pipeline that they say threatens cultural artifacts and drinking water.

Hospitals typically are not in the business of providing legal aid to patients, but several tribal health facilities in Alaska are going to start doing just that. The pilot project is being funded through a multi-state grant that's placing AmeriCorps volunteers in tribal facilities in six states. Listen Now

The state of Alaska is dropping its lawsuit over federal regulations that banned Alaska tribes from putting land into trust, calling it "dead-end litigation." But that doesn't mean the state sees smooth roads ahead. Listen now

Affordable housing is in great demand in Alaska – people enter a lottery to even get their names on a waiting list. So the grand opening of an East Anchorage affordable housing complex for active seniors was cause for celebration Wednesday when about 50 people listened to speakers and toured the two-building complex. Listen now

Experienced firefighters can earn up to 60-thousand dollars in a few months, which may seem like a lot of money. But considering their working conditions, and hazards, many of them would say they earn every bit of their pay. A few dozen Alaskan firefighters are mopping up the McHugh fire south of Anchorage. Listen now

The spring run of herring, when thousands of the small fish arrive in southeast waters, to spawn is a sure sign of spring. After the herring spawn, some of their roe makes its way to Anchorage. Download Audio

Governor Bill Walker on Thursday announced the formation of an 11-member tribal advisory council. The goal is to talk with tribes about issues of concern to both tribes and the state, and to find ways to join forces to address them, Walker said.

In court, the state of Alaska lost its bid for easements along historic trails across Native Allotments near Chicken, in Interior Alaska. The Department of Law is now turning to the larger issue of getting easements along historic trails crossing private and federal land. Download Audio

A federal court has approved payment of almost a billion dollars by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to 700 tribes across the nation. The settlement is for decades of underpayment by the BIA to tribes for education, road construction, and other contracts.

Last week at the Dena'ina Convention Center in Anchorage high-level EPA officials presented an award to the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium for its Local Environmental Observer, or LEO program. Download Audio

A commission set up by the Alaska Legislature in 2014 has issued a report on Alaska's corrections and judicial systems. They say the judicial and corrections systems cost the state a lot, but they don't do enough to improve public safety.
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The First Alaskans Institute in Anchorage is hosting a gathering it's calling: "Partners for the next 10,000 years: A Racial Equity Summit." They're inviting the public to join in discussions on ways to use education, law, policy, and advocacy to work toward racial equity.
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The federal subsistence board voted Tuesday to work to re-establish better relations with the state of Alaska. A federal-state memorandum of understanding, or MOU, on subsistence expired last year over differences on data sharing, day-to-day operations, and other issues.
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An economist who played an important role in the shaping of modern Alaska has passed away. Dr. Arlon Tussing began his work in Alaska at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Department of Economics in 1965.
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Four tribes in western Alaska are calling on the Association of Village Council Presidents to broaden the focus of a special meeting originally intended to address regional governance, and to set a date for the gathering.
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